Long Beach City Council to begin discussion on salary rollbacks

LONG BEACH - Discussions on a ballot initiative that would reduce non-public safety employee compensation to 2010 levels will start when the Long Beach City Council meets Tuesday.

The measure, which would cap compensation in 2014 and 2015, will be introduced by Councilman James Johnson and requests that City Attorney Robert Shannon draft an initiative to put to voters in a spring special election.

Rolling back salaries and benefits for the city workers would save $29 million per year overall, and $9.4 million annually in the general fund, according to a memorandum, allowing the city to restore services and avoid more future cuts after a decade of deficits.

The City Council approved a budget on Sept. 4 enacting $12.9 million in cuts for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.

The savings almost equal the $28.7 million jump in employee pension costs since 2007, from $69.4 million citywide then to $98.1million in 2012, the document said.

Mayor Bob Foster has repeatedly said he would seek a similar initiative if the city's largest union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, did not agree to pension reforms proposed by the city.

The roughly 3,600-member union rejected a deal last month that would have saved $3.9 million in the general fund in 2013, and $12.2million across all funds, by increasing the employee share of retirement costs and raising the age for future employees while lowering their benefits. To pay for the higher contribution, workers would have been advanced contractual raises.

According to the IAM's contract, union members have received 12 percent raises since the start of the contract on Oct. 1, 2007. The contract, which expires Sept. 30, 2013, calls for an additional 6 percent in the next fiscal year.

Public safety employees are not included in the proposal because police and fire unions agreed to pension reform last year, Johnson said.

The reforms were similar to the deal offered to the IAM. Officials estimate the changes would save Long Beach $100million by 2022.

IAM officials have repeatedly declined to comment on pension negotiations with the city.